The Minstrel’s Ballad: Hades’ Elegy, commonly known as Hades Extreme, is slightly longer than the other Shadowbringers Extreme Trials. Understanding all the mechanics of this fight may take a little more time on your part, but they can all be mastered with the right approach. I’ve combed through the available guides to find the most accessible explanations and highlighted the best tutors for various learning methods.
If you’re just starting out using Party Finder to get into endgame content, you may find some helpful tips in this Wild Raids article.
quick visual resources
If you’re looking for a quick fix for a specific mechanism, I usually put some pictures for common failure stages. However, the amazing u/GabrielCeleste made animated slideshows for each mechanic, so no matter which mechanic you’re looking for, you’ll find it in his guide.
video guide
Lots of people make video guides, but some are too long and some don’t cover all the important things. This is the best video I’ve ever seen. See which one seems right for you to study or send to a friend.
Lycona DaCheeChee – Purely verbal explanation using Bard PoV clips. (13:11) (Phase 2@2:56) (Phase 3@7:35) (Phase 4@11:01)
Lycona has a shorter video, which is great if you don’t want to spend half an hour before starting a fight. He still covers everything he needs to know because she keeps it concise. Start with setting up markers and assigning locations, and use infographics multiple times for easy explanations.
Strategy Used: In the second phase, the DPS players take all the bindings. Uncommon in Party Finder.
If you can’t focus on the audio without the images, you may find it difficult to follow your talk. But if you’re looking for a quick video to get you started, this is perfect.
MTQCapture – Quick comments and text overlays of multiple PoV clips. (11:15) (Phase 2@3:28) (Phase 3@7:31) (Phase 4@9:48)
All Mizzteq videos follow a similar format. She will narrate the entire battle, one mechanic at a time, with the names of the attacks and essence superimposed at the bottom of the screen. For this video, she used beautiful infographics at each stage to illustrate safety points.
Tactics used: In the second phase, the tank and the healer take the tether.
If you are already familiar with the Mizzteq style or don’t want to listen to a lengthy explanation, I highly recommend watching the Mizzteq videos. As with most of his guides, you may need to rewatch or pause the video to see a particular mechanic of interest to you, as he goes through everything quickly.
OneActual: Detailed explanation and reasoning with text overlays. (21:21) (Phase 2@6:35) (Phase 3@14:34) (Phase 4@18:31)
OneActual took some time to discuss the battle setup in depth, including marking and grouping. Talk about the purpose behind the markings, which can be useful if you want to learn static combat and keep your tactics consistent.
Tactics used: In the second mooring phase, the tanks occupy the north mooring and the DPS occupy the south mooring.
While there’s definitely some filler talk in there, this guide also has a lot of additional perspective and provides a fuller understanding of the combat mechanics. If you’re just looking for a quick prep, you should probably click elsewhere.
Zeke Estheim – Therapy guide with video clip commentary. (18:37) (Phase 2@4:51) (Phase 3@12:58) (Phase 4@15:36)
I’ve never seen a specific video of a therapist for extreme tests before, but this is a great idea. He has a lot of specific advice that you won’t find in general guide videos, so if you’re having a hard time as a therapist, or maybe you’re just nervous about getting started, check out Zeke’s guide.
While not marked as a general guide, he still goes through the fight sequentially from a healer’s perspective, so players of that role don’t need to watch the other videos. He gives instructions on when healing can be delayed and when it should be immediate. He also offers specific options for each of the three healers to deal with Shattered Faith’s “stack and absorb” strategy, as well as times like the Astrologer’s Earth Star.
text guide
Illustrated text guide by Seiji Telayo (u/Telayo)
Telayo provides a text guide in slide format, including many great illustrations for the various mechanics. Use the phase tabs on the side to jump to the section that interests you.
If you need a text guide you can read at your own pace, it’s a conversational writing style and the diagrams add a lot to the explanations.
Gabriel Celeste Animation Guide (u/GabrielCeleste)
This animated guide is an excellent resource for learning how to complete each mechanic safely. For a visual learner like me, this is a clean and easy way to learn all the stages of combat.
The mechanics are also very well explained, so if you want to pause the slides to read the text at your leisure, be sure to use the presentation view (“Present” in the upper right corner).
Rotation and schedule of Syldris (u/Syldris)
This is not a guide, but a time-stamped timeline of events, with color-coded attack names and brief descriptions. While it’s not very useful for first learning how to counter each mechanic, it’s a great tool for planning your cooldowns if you’re a tank or healer.
It’s also a useful reference if you’re still getting used to combat and can’t remember the order of the mechanics. You can easily view the entire timeline at a glance to see what’s coming up next. Note that because the DPS has been increased enough in the early phases, certain mechanics may be skipped, which is why the timestamp resets to 0 at the start of each phase.
Macro
Considering how many mechanics there are in this fight, and how many people are doing it right now, you’re likely going to run into different types of macros. u/laeriie posted a macro that gets good uptime guidance at the cost of having to remember multiple locations.
Did you find these resources useful? Which method do you prefer when learning Extreme Trial for the first time or teaching a team? Let me know below, as there is a lot of value in clear and understandable tools that help new players get started with more difficult content.
Categories: Gaming
Source: HIS Education